Established 1953 | ||
 | ||
Street address 420 Old Las Vegas Highway | ||
Bobcat Bite was a restaurant located in Santa Fe, New Mexico off of the historic Old Las Vegas Highway. Bobcat Bite specialized in steak, chops, and hamburgers.
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Origins
The historic building that housed Bobcat Bite was originally a trading post. Later it became a gun shop until Rene Clayton and her daughter Mitzi Clayton/Panzer converted it into a restaurant. The Bobcat Bite has won many awards and has been featured in newspapers, television and other media as the place to go for a green chile cheeseburger. The name refers to accounts of bobcats coming down from the nearby foothills to visit "bobcat friendly" diners who would serve the animals fresh scraps.
Menu
Menu items include hamburgers, cheeseburgers, Bobcat Bite's famous Green chile Cheeseburger, chicken sandwiches, assorted grilled sandwiches, 10 oz. New York strip steak, a 15 oz. hamburger steak, pork chops, a 16 oz. ham steak and a 13 oz. rib eye steak.
Atmosphere
The exterior of the restaurant is a pink adobe building with traditional Southwestern Native American style paintings of kachina like figures painted on each side of the door. The restaurant's famously tiny capacity only sits 24. At the entrance hangs a dry erase board where those waiting to dine must write down their party's name and size. As a table becomes available the name is erased and the party is invited to enter.
The inside of Bobcat Bite's walls are prominently decorated with pictures of wild bobcats. The restaurant offers unique hours, serving customers from 11:00 AM to 7:50PM mountain standard time Tuesday through Saturday.
Publicity
Bobcat Bite was well known among citizens, visitors and tourists of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and has been featured in several articles, including those in the Albuquerque Journal, the Chicago Tribune, and The New York Times. Bobcat Bite also appeared in the 2004 documentary Hamburger America, and was mentioned in the Food Network's program, "Top American Restaurants: Bon Appétit picks the best", hosted by Alton Brown, in 2007. Bobcat Bite was featured in the 2012 episode "New Mexico" on Bizarre Foods America. Host Andrew Zimmern ranks it in his top 3 hamburgers.
Awards
Bobcat Bite's burgers - specifically the green chile cheeseburger, have won many local, national, and international awards.
Closing
As of June 9, 2013 Bobcat Bite is temporarily closed. Bonnie & John Eckre formerly of Bobcat Bite opened a new restaurant "Santa Fe BITE" in August 2013.